Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, right, reaches around for a steal against Lakers center Dwight Howard during the second half Thursday. CHARLES KRUPA, AP

BOSTON – Lakers center Dwight Howard indicated that the troubles he endured last season with a serious back injury are affecting the way he's handling his current shoulder injury.

After missing the previous three games, he returned to the court Thursday night and had nine points and nine rebounds before fouling out of the Lakers' 116-95 loss to the Celtics.

Howard had this to say after the game to those who believe he could've played before and can now play through the pain of a torn labrum in his right shoulder:

"They can say what they want to say. None of these people are playing; none of these people have had injuries. They can say what they want about playing through pain or playing through injuries. I spent a whole summer trying to recover because I wanted to play through pain and show people I'm tough.

"I spent eight years in Orlando, never really had an injury, and the injuries that I did have were ones I could play through it. Stuff like this, with the shoulder and the back, is not something that you can just play with and say you hope it gets better."

Howard had a herniated disk last season that required surgery. He might need surgery this offseason also, but the current issue is more whether Howard's shoulder is sound enough to play.

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said after Howard's first game back in Boston: "He's been (medically) cleared for a while. ... He felt better today. That's why he played."

Asked if he felt pressured to return, Howard said: "No, I didn't." Howard said he had been targeting the Boston game to return if he could, even though teammate Kobe Bryant – who played through a labrum tear in 2003 – had been publicly noting the need for Howard to learn to manage his pain.

Bryant said his statements were "really overblown. ... I didn't say anything that was groundbreaking."

Bryant said he would've been more directly critical if he'd wanted to get through a stronger statement: "If I had a message in mind, I'd be pretty black and white."

About Howard's tepid return to the court Thursday, Bryant said: "He did all right with it being his first time back. He was obviously a little rusty, kind of out of it a little bit."

What Bryant has been doing in publicly discussing Howard's ability or lack thereof to play through pain the past week is very similar to what former Lakers coach Phil Jackson did with Kwame Brown in 2005 and to a lesser extent with Pau Gasol in 2009 when they were fearful of playing through hamstring injuries.

Howard's labrum injury won't heal with mere rest, although the pain will decrease. Howard will remain subject to further aggravation when he plays and said "there were a couple times where I felt it" Thursday.

D'Antoni played Howard in the fourth quarter even though Boston held a commanding lead. Said D'Antoni about the risk of Howard aggravating his shoulder then: "It's more important he finds some rhythm to play."

SLUGGISH OFFENSE

The Lakers had an advantage with Bryant having to be defended by smaller Celtics guards.

And the Lakers' fragile team structure couldn't hold up with Bryant trying to take advantage of it.

The Lakers' need for Bryant to pass to energize the whole team was evident in the sluggish performance despite Bryant shooting well from the field.

"It all starts with the energy and the mindset and playing freely, and we just didn't do it," D'Antoni said. "One reason Kobe didn't have an assist is we didn't make a shot."

Gasol's ball-moving presence was missed even with Steve Nash not committing any turnovers in his 28 minutes.

Bryant did pass after drawing double-team defenses, but continual misses from the foul line by Howard, from the 3-point line by Jodie Meeks and from all over the court by Metta World Peace sapped the Lakers' enthusiasm.

Bryant didn't have an assist for the third time in 50 games this season; the Lakers have lost all three games. He didn't play the fourth quarter of this one, finishing with 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting in 30 minutes.

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